


Matt's Birth

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Series: Snapshots 'Verse [2]
Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Babies, Cameras, F/M, Gen, Hospitals, I cannot say if it's canon compliant yet, New Parents, Newborn Children, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Parenting 101, Photos, Pre-Canon, mentions of past suicide attempts, nobody went into Matt's birth in the series yet, so it's closer to the comics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 14:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4568526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part Two of the Snapshots 'Verse. In which Matt is born and Jack receives a camera.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Matt's Birth

Jack paced back and forth in the hallway, waiting to see his kid. Maggie had kicked him out the second she saw him, cursing Jack out for knocking her up and making her turn into a whale. She had gotten depressed while pregnant, wanting nothing to do with him. Jack was keeping his fingers crossed that she wouldn’t want anything to do with the kid either. As ill-equipped as Jack was to be a parent, he knew that Maggie would do worse. He figured the kid should grow up in a loving home, even if it wasn’t the best one. It would be better than an orphanage. 

Maggie could barely take care of herself, as it was. She was always questioning everyone’s motives when they were around her and she didn't trust anyone near her. She had tried to end the pregnancy violently, and Jack had stopped her, fearing for both of their lives. At that point, she had given up and gotten ready to leave as soon as the kid was born. 

Several hours passed as Jack waited in the hallway outside, listening to Maggie and waiting to hear a sign that the baby had arrived. He turned a small camera over in his hands, a gift from his mother shortly before she had died. She had expected her son to be raise a family. Now Jack didn't even know if he was going to raise one kid. He decided that even if he didn’t get to, then he would get one picture with the baby. 

Maybe, if he got to raise the kid, he’d take more than one. He could put the camera to good use. Jack knew he wasn’t going to be the greatest father in the world. But he would try, and he’d have the photos to prove it. He already knew that he was going to love the kid unconditionally. It might be easier to raise a boy, but he could still raise a girl. He didn't care. He just wanted to be the one to watch the kid grow up. 

Jack started to doze off on the hard wooden bench. He was still holding the camera in his hands when someone finally came to get him. A nurse prodded Jack, who startled awake. 

“It’s a boy.” she said, smiling. “Would you like to go see him?” 

“Will she let me?” he asked dubiously. The nurse nodded. 

“She’s asleep. Come meet your son.” Jack got up, following the nurse into the room, past Maggie, who was sleeping, and stopped at the small bassinet. He stared, hardly daring to breathe. 

“That’s my kid?” he asked, looking at the nurse, who nodded and smiled gently. 

“He’s yours.” 

Jack looked down again at the baby, swaddled in a pile of blue blankets. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not Maggie or any of her issues, not the fact that he had no idea how to raise a kid, none of it. The only important thing was the kid in the blankets. His kid. Here was his chance to do something right. He carefully raised the camera, taking a picture. It would be the first of many. He put the camera down and looked again at the nurse. 

“Can I hold him?” the nurse nodded and stepped forward, helping the completely inexperienced Jack pick him up. He cradled the baby in his arms. 

“Did she name him?” he asked without looking up from the sleeping face. 

“Matthew.” 

“Matthew.” he repeated, almost dreamily. “Do you mind taking a picture?” the camera went off while he was still focusing on Matt. He frowned at the nurse. “I wasn’t ready.” He looked at the camera and smiled a little, waiting while the nurse took a few photos. He would have them developed as soon as possible. He wasn’t sure if they were getting stuck to the fridge or put on the wall, but he would figure it out. For the moment, he had Matt in his arms and that was all that he needed. 

*** 

Maggie woke a short while later and didn’t immediately kick him out, which had to count for something. 

“I can’t do it.” she said, watching Jack holding Matt, her eyes dead. “I can’t be a mother.” 

“You don’t have to.” Jack chose to focus on Matt, rather than Maggie. It would keep him cheerful. “I’ll raise him.” That he didn’t trust her went unsaid, though they both knew it. Maggie nodded and sagged into the bed, looking more exhausted than ever. 

“What do I tell him when he starts asking questions?” he asked after a moment of silence. 

“Tell the brat I died, for all I care.” she pushed her hair out of her face. “He’ll never see me again.” 

“Where are you going to go?” 

“I’m becoming a nun.” Jack looked up, surprised. 

“A nun?” 

“Yeah.” she glared at him, challenging him, daring him to say something. He shrugged and focused on holding Matt. They were quiet for another few minutes until Maggie added, “I think it might help.” Jack shrugged his agreement, careful to not disturb Matt. 

“You don’t want to hold him, at least?” Maggie shook her head. 

“I don’t want him near me.” Jack put Matt back down to sleep for a little while and resisted the urge to take another picture. There would be time for that. Years, in fact. The reality that Jack would be the one raising him hit him out of nowhere, hard, followed only seconds later by a wave of exhaustion. He suddenly needed to sleep as soon as possible. 

Jack stumbled out of the room, heading back home so that he could sleep. When he woke up he would start figuring out what needed to be done to get his apartment ready for a kid.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to J for the beta read! Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
